An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were steady in the cfr market on Friday July 9 while market participants awaited further information about second-half production cut plans at Chinese steel mills. The fob coking coal market surged amid necessary procurement demand from Asia, market sources said.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) decreased in the cfr market in the week to July 9 because...Read More

London Metal Exchange base metal futures barring tin traded higher on Friday July 9 after the market responded to news that China's central bank will boost liquidity to small and medium sized businesses.The People's Bank of China said it would reduce the Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR), the amount of cash banks have to hold in reserve, by 0.5%, equivalent to the release of a trillion yuan ($154 bi...Read More

Iron ore prices across the board declined further on Friday July 9, with market chatter about crude steel production cuts in China depressing sentiment amid thin trading.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.77 per tonne, down by $3.27 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.00 per tonne, down by $4.00 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $180.0...Read More

Activity in the market for pig iron exports from Brazil was at a standstill in the week to Friday July 9, but local demand for such material was strong, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $620-625 per tonne on Friday, stable week on week.Suppliers in the south of Brazil were heard to be inactive as regards...Read More

The introduction of a Russian export duty on steel products carries serious risks for the country's steel industry, Russia's steel association Russkaya Stal warned last week.The duties, which cover 340 metal products, will apply from August 1 through to December 31 and have a base rate of 15%, with a specific minimum rate for each product.The measures will inevitably cut the profitability of steel...Read More

Sandfire Resources' Motheo copper mine in Botswana will come online in 2023, the mid-tier copper and gold miner said this week, after acquiring a mining license for the project. The construction of the Motheo copper mine will accelerate in the coming months and should deliver 30,000 tonnes of copper and 1.2 million ounces of silver for the first 12-and-a-half years of mine life, the Canada-listed...Read More

Base metals registered an increase in inventories at Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses during the week to Friday July 9, with nickel increasing the most in percentage terms, up 20.62%.Nickel stocks totaled 7,555 tonnes on Friday, up by 1,292 tonnes from 6,263 tonnes a week ago. The largest inflow was at Zhongchu Dachang warehouse, Shanghai, where volumes were up by 1,214 tones or 46....Read More

London Metal Exchange base metal futures barring tin traded higher on Friday July 9 after the market responded to news that China's central bank will boost liquidity to small and medium sized businesses.The People's Bank of China said it would reduce the Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR), the amount of cash banks have to hold in reserve, by 0.5%, equivalent to the release of a trillion yuan ($154 bi...Read More

Spot copper concentrate treatment/refining charges (TC/RC) continued to rise for the fourth week in a row on the improving availability of the copper raw material.Fastmarkets copper concentrate TC/RC index was calculated at $42.4 per tonne/4.24 cents per lb for the week to Friday July 9, its first foray above the $40/4 cents mark since late...Read More

Treatment charges (TCs) for zinc concentrates have risen over the past two weeks, with smelters sitting on better inventories and a flurry of mine tenders indicating rising supply, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 9.TCs becoming firmer, but slower than market expectedSeveral tenders issued by miners in recent weeks, well bid by the tradeSome smelters see TCs at $100 per tonne as a peak for this ye...Read More

The copper miner said it was now expecting to receive its draft UIC permit from the Environmental Protection Agency "towards the end of the third quarter", having previously expected the documentation by the end of June."Although that timing is later than previously expected, our understanding is there are no issues and that the agency just needs additional time to complete its internal reviews of...Read More

Look beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipProudfoot Global CEO Pamela Hackett talks wrestling chaos with industry leadersSPONSOREDproudfootYandal building on discovery successSPONSOREDyandal resourcesEmerging producer Horizon Minerals eyes mid-tierSPONSOREDhorizon mineralsThey include Marimaca Copper (capitalised at C$356 million), Filo Mining Corp ($1.1 billion), Solaris...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange increased across the board during morning trading on Friday July 9.The three-month aluminium price was most recently trading at $2,465 per tonne, up $23 from Thursday's close. It has retreated from a high of $2,581.50 per tonne on Monday.Stock availability continues to fall, with a further 10,525 tonnes of aluminium delivered out across multiple diff...Read More

Junior-gold producer McEwen Mining has had to sit on Los Azules in recent years while fighting fires, sometimes literally, at its gold operations in Timmins in Ontario, Canada and in Nevada, USA,Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States fell for a second day after breaching $90 per hundredweight ($1,800 per short ton) for the first time, with scarce spot availability projected to extend the rally, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $89.06 per hundredweight ($1,781.20 per short ton) on Friday July 9, down 0.46% from $89....Read More

Activity in the Turkish flat steel market weakened further during the week to Friday July 9, ahead of the public holidays that start in the country on July 15.July 15 is Democracy Day in Turkey, and the Ei al-Adha holidays will take place from July 19-24.Uncertainty on prices also contributed to weak buying activity in Turkey. Hot-rolled coil prices increased during the week in China, while prices...Read More

Indian mills reduced the export prices of hot rolled coils by $50-70 per tonne to sell higher tonnages in the international market as domestic demand for HRC remains sluggish, sources told Fastmarkets.According to a market participant, Indian mills aim to keep supply tight in the domestic market, so they have to move higher tonnages of HRC out of the country at low prices. Fastmarkets' assessment...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were relatively stable on Friday July 9 due to slow buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Market sources believed that the price fluctuations during the week have not been indicative of a trend change, but mainly reflected the uncertainty among buyers in the market with a limited number of offers.Buyers have been holding back from making new deals...Read More

Hot-dipped galvanized and pre-painted galvanized coil prices remained stable in Turkey during the week to Friday July 9 due to upcoming holidays, sources told Fastmarkets.July 15 is Democracy Day in Turkey and July 19-23 will be the Eid al-Adha holidays so buyers preferred to postpone bookings.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG coil domestic, exw Turkey was unchanged...Read More